Mention Books Conducive To Whirlwind (Asian Saga: Chronological Order #6)
| Original Title: | Whirlwind |
| ISBN: | 0340766182 (ISBN13: 9780340766187) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Asian Saga: Chronological Order #6, Asian Saga: Publication Order #5 |
| Setting: | Tehran,1979(Iran) |
James Clavell
Hardcover | Pages: 1231 pages Rating: 3.82 | 6334 Users | 224 Reviews
List Containing Books Whirlwind (Asian Saga: Chronological Order #6)
| Title | : | Whirlwind (Asian Saga: Chronological Order #6) |
| Author | : | James Clavell |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 1231 pages |
| Published | : | December 2nd 1999 by Morrow (first published 1986) |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Adventure. Thriller. Novels. Cultural. Asia |
Chronicle Toward Books Whirlwind (Asian Saga: Chronological Order #6)
Since I was in high school, James Clavell has loomed largely among my guiltier pleasures. Somewhere circa age sixteen I plowed through Shogun and Tai-Pan one summer, and came away from them heady with Orientalism: because these books are, really, Orientalism at its pulpy contemporary finest (if that isn't an oxymoron). In them, the European hero is thrown into an exotic, spice-scented eastern culture where, through a combination of courage, canny and luck, he is embroiled in conspiracies, admitted into the luxurious inner circles of power, beds beautiful women, and defeats his enemies. Clavell isn't subtle, by a long shot. His villains are machiavellian pedophiles and sadists, his protagonists are manly and muscular, moral ambiguity never registers on his radar, and he's not one to hesitate at cheap gratification (for example, in at least three novels he goes out of his way to have women note the gigantic endowment of his hero). This is broad-strokes, primary-colors-only entertainment, but on that level it works fantastically. He has enough superficial understanding and genuine appreciation of Chinese and Japanese culture to make Shogun and Tai-Pan read like glossy action-movie tourist brochures to a compellingly different world, inhabited by (sort of) real people, that we'd like to leave behind our real lives to visit for awhile. Unfortunately, this is far less the case for Whirlwind, Clavell's fictionalization of the 1979 Iranian Revolution led by Khomeini. The sprawling plot, which revolves around the various European and American employees of a charter helicopter company attempting to cope with, and later escape, the deadly upheaval caused by the Revolution, features Clavell's usual twists, turns, narrow escapes, tragic deaths, unexpected betrayals, irredeemable bad guys and unimpeachable good guys. But where his other novels depict the exotic settings of his stories, and the exotic characters who inhabit them, with a sensitivity that at least tries (in a limited kind of way) to shed light on the workings of another culture, here he has settled for caricature in the most unpleasant sense. No genuine attempt is made here to understand, or empathize with, why the Revolution captured the hearts and minds of millions. By and large, Clavell's Iranians are illiterate brutes, rapists, and thugs. The only characters who have integrity are those who resist, or at least stand apart from, support for Khomeini, and the virtue of European values -- in particular, the heroic efforts of oil-company employees, who struggle to keep the black gold flowing at any cost -- are never questioned in the slightest. True, on a paragraph-by-paragraph level, Whirlwind is a page-turner that dishes up sex, suspense and violence in heavy rotation. Take a step back though, and this novel emerges as a perfect example of the kind of insensitive, colonialist xenophobia that fueled the Revolution to begin with.Rating Containing Books Whirlwind (Asian Saga: Chronological Order #6)
Ratings: 3.82 From 6334 Users | 224 ReviewsRate Containing Books Whirlwind (Asian Saga: Chronological Order #6)
My least favorite of Clavell's novels, but still worth the read for fans of the Asia Saga. It is related but not, which bings up mixed feelings for me. It kind of feels like Clavell was using a familiar model to tell a modern tale, but that he had added it on after the story had already ended. From the perspective that Shogun and Whirlwind are bookends on the story told in Tai-Pan, Gai-Jin, and Noble House this fits the bill. I think I would have preferred that Clavell use a different frameworkWhile this novel didn't quite usurp Shogun as my favorite of the Asian Saga, it came pretty damn close by the end. The only reason it gets four stars is because of a very slow start and a few shaky points here and there. The entirety of Book Four was a great blend of intensity, suspense, heartbreak, and catharsis. If you've liked Clavell's other books, you'll like this one. If you've never read any of them but have an interest in historical fiction... read Shogun or King Rat first.A major bit of
Fewwwwwwwwww. It's over.It was probably my longest read ever, and not only because of the book's length, as I read a few books with similar length, but it was a difficult read as well.In order to understand better what I read, I had to come back from 23% mark, and start reading it again.The story itself was pretty good, but what made it difficult for me to read, is the multiple scattered characters, with multiple scattered and confusing story lines. I just couldn't make a connection between
I read this one last, and it took me a long time to really get into it. Set in Iran, I was a little put off ... until I caught on about the helicopters, lovers, spies, fanatics, revolutionaries, friends and betrayers -- another carefully woven masterpiece.
King Rat and Shogun are two of my favorite books, so it's not as though I dislike James Clavell. I couldn't finish this book. All of the male characters were so similar, it was difficult to distinguish one from the other. Every one them were ridiculously macho. I read well over 300 pages but felt no desire to return to the book. I donated it to Goodwill. I wouldn't pass it along to a friend. Dreadful book!
I was fortunate enough to be mentored and befriended by James Clavell, and value his work and opinions over many. Unfortunately, this was a departure for him, and my least favorite of his works.
0 Comments